By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson I
Seven electorate were allegedly denied of voting at Tuesday’s polls at the Monrovia Church of Christ, Wells-Hairston School in district #10 Montserrado County, following their alleged involvement in electoral irregularities.
Polling place number 3 was a room of controversy at the voting precincts, following allegations of voters denial and pre-marking of the Final Registration Roll.
At the voting place, over nine individuals were also discovered of engaging into voting fraud or duplication of voting cards- something that led to five of them being arrested and forwarded at the Zone 3 deport.
As established by our reporter, over seven persons were denied voting rights on grounds that their names were already marked in the Final Registration Roll FRR-indicating that they have already voted despite the lack of marked to justified the NEC allegations.
This prompted the voters to engage into serious confrontation with NEC staff at the precincts, alleging that their names were marked by NEC staffers. They threatened to disrupt the process and take the ballot papers in the sea.
Speaking in an interview with this paper at the voting precinct, Ms. Hannah Lurpo said that she was denied to vote by the National Elections Commission staff on grounds that she had voted because her name waschecked. However, she challenged the accusations by the NEC staff.
“I came to vote because this is where i registered, the guy at the voting room, polling place #3 told me that my name is checked therefore, I can’t vote. My brother, I have not voted. If I vote, why my finger not marked. I want to vote because it’s my rights. I will be here until I vote,” she said.
Also, ZayZay D. Kollie, Jr. said he too was denied from voting on grounds that he voted earlier, even though his finger was not marked.
“I have my voting card with me and ready but they saying I have voted. This needs to be settled because I want to vote. It’s my rights and I must exercise it” she stated.
For her part, an observer of the Movement for Progressive Change Precious P. Wallo accused the NEC staffers of engaging into pre-marking of elections Final Registration Roll.
“Since we came, the NEC staff refused to show us the Final Registration Roll (FRR). They told us that NEC has instructed them not to show it to us. The only thing we were shown is the ballot paper, and refused to show us the opening series and the closing series on the ballot paper” she noted.
Responding to the allegations, National Elections Commission Montserrado County District 10 Supervisorwho refused to mention her name, says the aggrieved electorate must write a written communication to NEC on their complain form, before being allowed to vote.
“There is nothing I can do about this because your names are checked indicating that you have registered. However, the system will verify the information but what they told me is that you should do a written communication filing in the NEC complain form stating your concerns,” she noted.
Howbeit, the presiding officers of the center refused to speak to the matter.
